An Afghan uniformed policeman prepares for a mission in Qarabagh district. Afghan forces are assuming the lead role on small operations with U.S. forces in support. / Carmen Gentile for USA TODAY

by By Carmen Gentile, Special for USA TODAY

by By Carmen Gentile, Special for USA TODAY

BAZGAY, Afghanistan - An Afghan policeman peers in the distance at the motorcyclist racing along a dusty road in Ghazni province, his finger on the trigger of a machine gun bolted to the back of his pickup truck.

Spotting a weapon slung over the rider's back, the officer shouts a warning that is ignored and fires several bursts at the rider, who disappears.

But in a sign of increased proficiency among Afghans security forces, the episode does not end there. The Afghans quickly break into groups, one of which chases the suspect as others set up a checkpoint on a road often used by the Taliban.

They then head to the nearby village to check for weapons and interview locals about Taliban activity in the Ad Band district, a known transit route for the Taliban to other parts of this militant stronghold.

"Before, U.S. forces were always in the lead during operations like these," says U.S. Lt. Col. Kevin Lambert, a battalion commander with the 1st Infantry Division out of Fort Riley, Kan..

"Now, we've gotten to the level where the ANSF (Afghan National Security Forces) can fight the Taliban on the platoon and company level with little or no help from us," Lambert says. "We went from being partners to advisers."

Today's mission is part of a growing trend throughout Afghanistan: Afghan soldiers and police leading operations with coalition troops in support roles. The change comes with hopes that by 2014 -- when U.S.combat forces are scheduled to leave Afghanistan - Afghans can conduct the fight against the Taliban alone.

A few months ago, U.S. forces would lead their counterparts in combat situations like this, sometimes dragging along reluctant Afghan forces. Now Afghans are taking in operations of 100 troops or less in this corner of eastern Afghanistan where the Taliban has built up strongholds near the border with Pakistan.

Whether the Afghans can protect the hard-won gains of U.S. troops over the past 10 years will determine if the country keeps its elected form of government and never again is controlled by anti-American Islamic militants.

On this day, U.S. forces are in the back, assuming defensive positions in ditches just outside the village. They scan the horizon for assailants and let the Afghans assume most of the risk.

U.S. Capt. Gino Capp says the Afghan Uniform Police, with which his men are often coupled, are eager soldiers yet still require much training.

"They are kind of like a good high school football team," he surmises during the mission in Bazgay as the occasional shot from unseen assailants cracks in the distance. "They are good if you give them a specific task, but not so much with implied directions and improvising."

Lambert says U.S. adviser teams are now focusing on teaching Afghan commanders "logistical planning at the higher level."

He says Afghan troops lack much-needed resources for fighting like fuel for vehicles and generators, ammunition and weapons. A steady supply of food is also an issue in a province of snow-capped peaks surrounding barren farmers' fields hardened by frost.

"We've come to grips with the fact that the ANSF can beat the Taliban," Lambert says. "Now we're focusing on making that happen logistically."

Specialized U.S. military advisers are here as well, teaching the Afghans how the finer points of bureaucratic management in war. They are instructing the Afghans on managing resources and requesting supplies from government authorities.

The Afghans get supply help from the Americans, but when the troops pull out, the Afghan forces are "going to need to come up with their own solutions," Lambert says.

Afghan Uniformed Police Lt. Obaidullah, who like many Afghans goes by a single name, says his men can execute missions on their own as long as the Americans continue providing them with the supplies they need.

"Right now we can conduct missions with coalition forces," says Obaidullah. "And if they keep supplying us after 2014 we can keep fighting the Taliban."

How much support U.S. forces will provide after the drawdown is not known here.

A fighting force of at least 10,000 U.S. troops, many of them Special Operations Forces such at the Green Berets and Navy SEALs, are expected to remain in Afghanistan after 2014 to continue training their Afghan counterparts.

The progress of the Afghan training may not be known fully until the spring. During the cold winter months, Taliban activity typically wanes. Americans and Afghans are taking these months to recruit new members to the Afghan Local Police (ALP), a relatively new addition to the Afghan forces in Ghazni.

The ALP is comprised of local men who provide security at the village level and are vetted by elders before beginning their training with U.S. Special Operations Forces operating in the area. But the coalition has competition for their loyalty.

In neighboring Qarabagh district, Obaidullah tells American commanders that the Taliban is active despite the cold, visiting villages and forcing young men to join its ranks.

"The Taliban are patrolling the villages telling young men not to join the ALP and other Afghan forces," he says. "They tell them 'if you do, we will kill you.'"

One month ago, three members of the ALP were killed in a bomb blast blamed on the Taliban. U.S. military commanders here say that the Taliban commanders that typically return home during the winter have remained in Ghazni under the order of Quetta Shura, the high command for the Taliban.

Obaidullah says he is unfazed by the violence against Afghan forces.

"Some say that after 2014 the Taliban will defeat ANSF," he says. "But as long as we receive supplies from the Americans, we can continue the fight."

The fight against the Taliban in this corner of Ghazni just isn't on the battlefield. There is a battle here for the minds of Afghans who know no authority other than the hard-line brand of Islam that the Taliban imposes.

Hoping to counter the Taliban message, a group of Jordanian soldiers, who are also religious clerics, visit rural villages in Ghazni and other parts of Afghanistan to preach moderate Islam and denounce violence against fellow Muslims.

Dressed in imam's robes, the soldiers preach to a group of Ghazni residents and Afghan soldiers about the virtue of tolerance stressed in Islam, calling the Taliban's interpretation of the Koran "misguided."

"Jihad (holy war) is not just about fighting," says Maj Morad Jumah. "Jihad is also about going to school and working hard to improve your country."

Afghans listening to the sermon say they've never heard a message like it from local religious leaders and especially not the Taliban.

"Many people here are illiterate and don't send their children to school," says Haji Sultan, noting some Afghans misunderstanding of their faith following the Jordanians' talk. "They told us it's important to educate ourselves and our children about Islam."